Publicly Beneficial Association Supporting Persons Affected by Holocaust

Poor Jews were not required to pay direct taxes to their communities. The assistance they received was not intended to eliminate social or economic stratification within the community, but rather to ensure that no member would be forced to live in hardship. Throughout the European diaspora in the Middle Ages and early modern period, a network of private and public institutions existed to secure a dignified existence for many disadvantaged groups—including orphans and widows, people with disabilities, victims of poor economic dealings or natural disasters, and communal officials such as rabbis and judges who were imprisoned by Christian rulers for their public roles. Some communities also included in their charitable support those who devoted all their time to the study of the Torah.

Over time, based on the Talmudic principle that "the poor of your city take precedence," three main groups of charity recipients emerged: local residents, those in need outside the local community, and Jews living in Palestine. The attitude of Central European communities is well illustrated by the early modern statutes of the Jewish community in Poznań, which state: "The community shall closely watch over its poor and is obliged to provide each of them with support according to the size of their household."

With the emancipation of Jews and their growing participation in public life from the 19th century onward, the scope of charitable activities broadened and became more diverse. In addition to traditional forms of support for basic living needs, new initiatives emerged—such as scholarships aimed at enabling talented pupils and students to pursue studies at public and private secondary schools or universities.

In the Czech lands, Jewish charity was already widespread during the Austro-Hungarian Empire and reached its peak in the interwar period of the First Czechoslovak Republic. As historian and archivist Jiří Křesťan notes in reference to Prague—where about half of the Jewish population of Bohemia and Moravia lived at the time—“the most numerous group among Jewish associations were charitable, humanitarian, and relief organizations. Charity was a traditional and inseparable part of Judaism.”

This is evidenced by the existence of dozens of charitable organizations associated with various linguistic, religious, and political currents within the Jewish community. To name just a few that stood out for their long-term activity:

• Derech Ješara / Maskil El Dol, Association for the Support of the Sick (1797–1933)
• Chanuka, Association for the Support of Impoverished Youth (1879–1940)
• Penny Association for the Support of Poor Orphaned Israelite Girls in Bohemia (1877–1939)
• Israelite Orphanage Association for Boys from Bohemia (1897–1938)
• Association for the Establishment of a Jewish Hospital in Prague (1894–1938)

Among the best-known organizations engaged in charitable work is the international order B’nai B’rith, whose members during the interwar period included a significant part of the Jewish social elite. Its activities in the Czech Republic were revived after the fall of the communist regime.

The Publicly Beneficial Association Supporting Persons Affected by Holocaust builds on all these traditions through its mission and focus.